Monthly Archives: March 2017

Disclaimer: I was given A Better Whey Protein in December and have been using it consistently. I offered to do a review based on my own personal opinions and was not compensated (other than free sample) for this review. I am not a licensed nutritionist, these are my opinions. Please consult with your doctor before changing your diet.

I posted an article regarding dairy intake to Facebook recently and oh man, did it cause a scene. I tend to see nutrition articles as a whole, not one part. The big takeaway, is that dairy is in (and hidden in) a LOT of products the same way wheat and sugars are. Which means generally people are getting dairy in their diets without even trying.

The problem is you don’t know where the dairy source is coming from, whether the dairy is organic or if it’s from a farm that pumped their cows full of hormones. This is the big reason i’m picky with dairy, try not to eat packaged products, and preach to clients about consuming high quality dairy (and meat products).

After being a person that over the years has tried plenty of diets, shakes, and bars I am a firm believer that a well rounded, balanced, high quality everything included nutritional diet is the best. I try to choose quality over quantity to get as many nutrients packed into meals as possible in order to recover workout to workout, race to race and day to day.

Doesn’t mean i’m not gonna eat junk, let’s not get too crazy. Just means that 80-90% of the time, my meals are on point. Which brings me to something I’ve been crazy happy about. An organic, grass fed protein powder. I was given A Better Whey organic protein to try, and i’m in love with it.

The texture of the powder is phenomenal, super fine and mixes well. The flavor is perfect (and i’m picky with chocolate flavor anything) and it’s been an easy way to up my protein intake which has been crucial after my heavier lifting days for recovery.

chocolate protein, almond milk, chocolate chips. boom.

I like blending protein powders with ice and milk to make it creamy. This powder tastes excellent blended with just almond milk.

Another thing I’ve been proud of are my protein ball creations. I don’t have perfect recipes down yet, but it’s been fun trying different flavors to keep my sweet tooth and protein needs satisfied.

some ingredients I use for the protein balls

I first add dry ingredients, A Better Whey protein powder (1 scoop), steel cut oats (1/4 cup), sometimes coconut flour (1 tbsp) then start adding in peanut butter until you get some texture (about 3/4 cup). Slowly and little at a time (very little) add wet ingredients to bind the mixture. I use almond milk (1 tsp), sometimes honey or vanilla extract depending on what flavors i’m going for. The combined ingredients should still be somewhat dry before you start rolling them into balls.

chocolate pb protein balls

vanilla honey pb protein balls

If i do the vanilla Better Whey protein with vanilla extract, they come out tasting like cookie dough. It’s been a big hit around the gym and in my house. The treats taste incredible because of the high quality protein I’m using. Plus it makes me feel good knowing the main ingredient is giving me nutrients my body needs to recover and get ready for the next workout!

This was a big one. Bigger than I expected or hoped, way beyond a time PR.

The week of the race was typical. I was antsy, nervous and my training log concerned me. Pacing was all over the place and some workouts were scaled down and adjusted. Extremely different from how marathon training went last fall, where I hit almost every running workout and every pace to the T.

So I started examining the log as a whole: I put in all the miles, 45-51 miles per week, and did each workout to the best of my ability, all while increasing strength training days from 2x to 3-4x weekly, which meant getting used to training 2x a day (or two-a-days as it’s called). The work was there. The power from lifting heavy should translate to the run as long as I tapered well. And with that, I put the log away and told only two very close people what my goal was. 1:33.

The forecast was rough in the DC area that Saturday. Cold and 25 degrees at the start, and lots of NW winds 10-15+ mph. Fortunately nothing new to me. If you’ve been following my blog the past year, i can’t seem to get away from the wind.

info from my Garmin that day

But the freezing cold on top of it lead to wearing a lot of layers and we were all so happy the sun was out. It was the only thing keeping the weather bearable. I hopped on the Metro with Brian & Betty, a few runner friends I met at my Gold’s Gym.

Brian & Betty

We had plenty of time to use the bathrooms, get hydrated and get into our corrals. The first miles were flat, so the plan was to hold back until after the big hill between miles 6-7 and then start speeding up.

The flat miles weren’t incredibly easy for me. My left shin was tight and i was hoping it would shake out in the first couple miles but it didn’t. I felt it tighten every step of the way. I felt good otherwise, almost bouncy in a way and had a ton of energy. I was afraid of pushing too hard in the beginning in case the shin/calf muscle became more of an issue later in the race, so i was running on feel for the first half.

The big hill came and went. Once I felt recovered enough to push a little I did just that. The grade change helped stretch my calf and loosen up my shin. The uphills actually felt better than the flats and I could almost relax a bit on the downhill portions. Almost. There was no time to relax, i had work to do.

This half was not easy. Mentally I was having a great race, I was doing well going on effort while still keeping my goal time in mind. When it got tough and i felt like slowing down, and that happened several times, i just repeated a short piece of a pep talk I got that morning.

You’re going to fly. Over and over I said that to myself. And you know what, it made me feel fast and weightless. And focusing on the finish kept me sharp.

The last couple miles were hard. I don’t remember much because I was focused on a quick leg turnover, and pushing through muscle fatigue, especially while on a few short & steep hills that had my legs screaming. But when you only have a mile to go, you go. Proud of that last mile.

official 1:33:47

3 Big things happened for me in this race, which is why I said it was major and so much more than a time PR.

I started in Corral #1. When i first ran the Rock n Roll DC 1/2 back in 2013, I believe i was in Corral 5 or 6. I made it a goal of mine 4 years ago to make it into #1. It was a special feeling having my bib read #1.

I PR’d at my heaviest racing weight to date, in the coldest temps i’ve ever run in and the most clothes i’ve ever worn. I’m about 7lbs heavier than the marathon last November and 16lbs heavier than my first marathon. I’ve been consistently gaining muscle mass and running faster year after year. To PR with all that additional weight, on a windy, cold, hilly course reinforces that my training is on point and I’ve got faster times ahead.

I broke into the top 100 females at a major half marathon. This was the big one. Bigger than the actual time I finished in. It has been a goal of mine to break into the top 100 of a major race for years. When i found out I was 67th, I got teary and overwhelmed with happiness. It’s been a long time since i’ve been able to let myself enjoy these victories and allow myself to be proud.

Taper week has been, well, taper week. Easy runs feel harder than normal, i’m questioning why I like running, wondering how much foam rolling is too much, if carb loading this early will help or hurt Saturday’s race or if i’m just stress eating, wondering if the tickle in my throat will turn into a cold, if the weather will be on my side, combing my training log for anything positive to hang onto for dear life! You know, the usual taper mini-panic attacks.

The pictures below were taken 6 days apart… I have no clue how running in warm weather then running in possible snow will translate come race day. As of now Saturday looks to be COLD. And i put most of my winter gear into storage… of course.

feb 25th

march 3rd.

But you know what I always say, play it as it lies. Like I’ve been doing my hair. Dry shampoo might be the best invention ever.

Okay enough with the tangents, last weekend I went downtown with my girlfriend Yomery to visit a few museums she’d never been to and grab lunch. When I say “girlfriend” i always feel like my mom, cause she used to say that ALL the time when I was younger. Now there’s a distinct connotation so when I say it, i just feel super old school. Dang it, another tangent. Sorry!

We rode down on the Metro, the only way to travel to DC, and our first stop was the American History Museum. I think I found my race day outfit…

I thought this jack in the box was pretty amusing…

And finally I found my new motivation. Yomery read this out loud and was like, “am I missing something?” No, she wasn’t missing anything. This was the gem of the day.

Then we went on to lunch at Zaytinya to get mediterranean, specifically falafel and it was outstanding. We did the $25 lunch special which included 4 courses including dessert and we added Turkish coffee cause apparently we can’t go 4 hours without coffee.

turkish coffee

We decided to walk off lunch and finished up the museum tour at the Air and Space Museum. Hey guess what? Thrusters aren’t just used in Crossfit! haha